I Come Alive
by Tania-Terror
Summary: Amara Stonebrook isn't like other humans. Not only is she a witch - she also died when she was nineteen. And she's never been close with her aunt Marnie, but when Amara learns she's the beneficiary in her aunt's will, Amara inherits a magic shop. She moves to Shreveport to reopen the shop, but Amara soon finds herself in the unwanted company of some very suspicious vampires.


**Chapter 1: Prologue - Living Dead Girl**

* * *

Notes: Just a heads up, this fic is not a priority atm. I have other works I want to focus on and finish before I commit to this one, so updates will be pretty unpredictable.

This fic will be canon divergent post S4. Marnie intrigues me. I don't like her, but she intrigues me, so I guess this fic is my headcanon for why/how Marnie came to be in S4, but it's not going to center around her. This fic will focus on an original female character and some of my True Blood favorites.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.  
Enjoy! :)

* * *

"I have to try to get through to her," Amara spoke to herself as she started towards her aunt Marnie's home.

Amara and Marnie were once very close. But things gradually began to change when Amara joined the coven of witches her aunt and mother, Eleanor, belonged to.

It was on Amara's eighteenth birthday, and the whole coven held a celebration in her honor at Eleanor's Victorian style home. There, the coven met to practice their craft but her mother insisted Amara not participate until she was eighteen. She spent so much of her young life just observing her mother and aunt partake in the magic she was so curious about.

And then it was her time. Amara learned quickly. In just a few short months her power grew greater than that of all the members in her coven. Some were highly impressed with Amara's skills; others were skeptical, suspecting she must have cast a spell of sorts to access more power. But it didn't matter what the others thought. Her mother was intensely proud of her daughter. Everytime Amara learned a new spell Eleanor wore the biggest smile on her face as she witnessed her daughter blossoming into a marvelous witch and woman.

Marnie, however, grew fiercely jealous of her young niece. In an effort to prove herself the better witch, Marnie began practicing necromancy - which was forbidden by the coven for fear of vampires harming them. When the coven discovered Marnie's exploits, they shunned her, chastising her for her unfaithful deeds. This only fueled Marnie's anger, driving her to delve deeper into her dark magic.

Fearing what would come to all those she cared for, Amara decided she had no choice but to learn as much as she could about necromancy as well. At best, she could hopefully understand what Marnie was going through and eventually help her indignant aunt; and at worse, Amara would have to battle Marnie.

Neither sequence would come to pass. Nothing could have prepared any of the witches on the events about to unfold.

"I have to try, I have to," Amara repeated to herself in a sort of chant. The sun set not thirty minutes ago in the quaint New Orleans town but the evening already became pitch black. There were no stars in the sky and the cold winter air felt like razors against Amara's cheeks. "I shouldn't have walked," Amara muttered. It wasn't just the darkness or cold that troubled her though. Amara felt… anxious. She sensed an ominous impression befall her surroundings as soon as she began the walk to her aunt's house. And she was right.

Finally reaching her destination, Amara sighed deeply as she let herself in through the side door of the house. But before she took a step further, Amara was stopped dead in her tracks.

"Don't try anything stupid, witch!" a voice shouted abruptly.

Amara could have sworn her heart stopped beating, but the command wasn't directed towards her. Slowly and quietly, Amara crept to the lounge where she suspected the harsh voice came from. Her eyes opened wide as saucers as she gazed upon the scene before her, making sure no one was aware of her presence. There, she saw Marnie was cornered by four fearsome vampires. Two male, two female, dressed in all black and pissed as hell. Marnie raised her hands in a swift motion ready to hex the beasts. But one of the male vampires quickly grabbed Marnie by the wrists and pinned her against the wall behind her. His fangs fully extended, ready to drain her dry right then and there. Marnie had been anything but family to Amara the past year, but she was, she was family. And Amara refused to just stand by as her aunt was killed before her eyes. But before she could take action, Amara was frozen in place by her aunt's plea.

"Wait, spare my life," Marnie cried out.

"Why would we do that?" the vampire gripping Marnie asked with a devilish smirk on his face. The other vampires just laughed at her.

"I had no choice! It was the girl," she hissed. "The girl, Amara, she's gone mad! She forced our coven to practice necromancy! Please, I will take you to them all in exchange for my life."

"You would sacrifice your own kind just to save yourself?" he questioned.

"Yes," Marnie breathed.

"What do you think?" the vampire said to his companions.

"If there are more of these witches, we should kill them before they kill us," one of the female vampires stated.

"Don't be so stupid, Nikki! We have yet to reveal ourselves to the rest of world. This could jeopardize everything The AVL is working towards," the other female, called Sofia, vented aggressively.

"Oh, fuck The AVL!" Nikki cursed.

"Shut up!" The other vampire yelled at the girls, then turned back to the one gripping Marnie. "We don't have many options here, Marcus."

Exhaling deeply, Marcus turned his attention back to Marnie. "You will take us to these witches… now," he spoke clearly.

"And you will spare me," Marnie pleaded again.

"We will," he replied irately.

One of the vampires snorted at the agreement.

"Have something to say, Lars," Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow.

As he was going to voice his opinions, Lars turned to the adjoining room where Amara was hiding. He walked over, scanning the area.

"What is it?" Nikki inquired.

"There was someone here."

Indeed, there was. But Amara wasted no time once she heard what Marnie told the vampires. She darted back to her home in hopes of warning the others in time. It had begun to snow lightly and the pavement became slick with sleet. Turning the corner to her house, Amara slipped on the icy road and hit the ground with a hard thud, cutting her lower lip. "Fuck," Amara swore. She tried to get up quickly but carefully, shaking off the shock of her fall. But she was on her feet in no time, running again towards her front door.

"Mom!" Amara yelled as she entered her home abruptly, slamming the door behind her. Eleanor rushed from a guest room where the coven practiced their magic.

"Amara! What's going on?" a distraught Eleanor asked her daughter.

"Mom, are the others upstairs?"

"Yes, we were wondering what was taking you so lo- What happened to your lip?" Eleanor said as she cupped her daughter's chin.

"Forget that," Amara answered, swatting her mother's hand away almost angrily. "Marnie, she's bringing vampires here to kill us all!"

"Vampires!" A voice came from the upstairs room.

"Lillian," Amara spoke distinctly turning to her fellow witch, "There is a journal underneath the mattress of my bed. I need you to go get it quickly."

"Of course," Lillian replied with an understanding nod.

"Amara…" Eleanor looked at her daughter inquisitively.

"They'll be here any moment. Let's go," Amara sighed, taking her mother's hand and leading her rapidly up to their room.

Heading into the room, another witch, Celia, asked, "What is going on, Amara?"

"There's not much time to explain," Amara said. "Where is Lillian with my journal?"

"Here," Lillian answered. "And this isn't just a journal. It's a journal of necromancy! Filled with incantations and rituals!"

Gasps went around the room. "Amara, what is going on?" Celia asked again.

"Stop asking me that!" Amara snapped. "Look, if we survive this, you can all kick me out of the coven too if you like. Just, please, everyone… do what I say."

* * *

Moments later the front door burst open. Marcus and the other vampires quickly searched the house for the witches. It didn't take long to find the room they were in, holding hands and standing in a circle while chanting in Latin.

"How did you get inside?" Eleanor demanded.

"We were invited," Sofia answered slyly.

"Marnie…" Amara whispered.

"Marnie and I both still own the house," Eleanor remembered.

"Yes, funny how significant a little piece of paper can be," Marcus interjected.

"Where is Marnie? Where is my sister?"

"Your sister sold you out," said Marcus.

The witches looked at the vampire with disbelief. Marnie may have been obsessed with power but the coven couldn't believe one of their own would be in league with vampires.

"It's true," Amara declared, "These vampires came to Marnie and were going to kill her for practicing necromancy. But she told them we forced it on her." Amara then turned to stand face to face with Marcus. "Only, she has deceived you. We've never practiced that kind of magic."

"Oh, so we didn't find you chanting in a circle just now? What were you doing exactly?" Marcus was growing impatient and desperate.

"It will not affect you," Amara tried to assure him.

Marcus swiftly grabbed Amara by her neck and hurled her light body clear across the room. The witches all gasped and some let out a surprised scream.

"Amara!" Eleanor cried out as she rushed to her injured daughter.

Lillian stepped forward clumsily. "Please, we've done nothing to harm any of you."

"Oh, I love it when they beg!" Sofia cackled, exposing her fangs. She lunged at Lillian, taking her down and sinking her teeth into the witch's jugular. The room erupted in frightful screams. Some of the witches tried to flee. Celia even attempted to escape through a window. But the vampires were too fast, ending the witches' lives before they had the slightest chance of defending themselves.

"Amara, honey, wake up," Eleanor murmured to her daughter, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Mom…" Amara responded softly.

As Nikki and Lars satiated themselves on the witches, Marcus and Sofia forcefully separated the mother and daughter.

"No!" Eleanor shrieked in defiance.

"Shut your fucking mouth, witch!" Marcus commanded. He snatched Eleanor from behind, one hand seizing her wrists and the other clasping her hair. "I want you to see this."

"It's ok, Mom. We'll be ok," Amara assured her mother.

"Say 'goodbye' to your Mommy, little witch," Sofia taunted, attacking Amara's throat with her ferocious bite. She ripped out Amara's flesh, veins dangling from her mouth. Done with the others, Lars and Nikki pounced on the dying girl. All Eleanor could do was shriek and cry as the three vampires gorged themselves on her daughter. With a swift motion, Marcus snapped Eleanor's neck and lets her body drop onto the floor.

* * *

Outside, Marnie waited for the vampires. They came out the front door, single file, each of them smiling. Encircling Marnie like vultures, they drew in closer and closer.

"Now, wait a minute. We had an agreement. I haven't done anything," Marnie protested.

"We'll keep our word. But feed us any more of your lies and we won't," Marcus replied with a threatening tone.

Marnie gawked at the vampires desperately not knowing what to say.

"What kind of fools do you take us for? Did you think we can't tell when a human is lying to us?" Marcus asked. The other vampires laughed wickedly. Nikki shook her head at Marnie.

"But then, why let me live?" Marnie questioned boldly.

"I feel generous," Marcus answered, grinning again. He sighed and looked back at the house, then turned back towards Marnie. "You will clean this up. I don't care how. And then you will leave New Orleans before the sun sets tomorrow," Marcus commanded. He could have glamoured Marnie but that's not Marcus's style. He likes to order everyone around using just his frightening demeanor.

"Yes," Marnie replied, knowing she has no choice but to comply.

"Oh, and if any other vampires find you using necromancy again I doubt they'll be as nice as we were," Marcus warned. And in the blink of an eye, Marcus and his vampires swiftly disappeared into the night.

Marnie shut her eyes and took several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down. Opening her eyes again, she turned and stared at the house for a moment. She dared not go inside. Instead, Marnie headed to the garage adjacent to the house. Entering the garage, she flicked a light switch on only providing a dim glow. Marnie walked over to a wooden table cluttered with various tools, some magical, but she didn't want those. Marnie selected the half gallon of gasoline and walked out of the garage.

* * *

Back upstairs, Amara slowly regained consciousness. She took a loud gasp for air and quickly sat up. She felt at her neck where Sofia bit her, realizing her wounds have healed. "It really worked," Amara said to herself in astonishment. "Mom!" she cried, crawling to her mother's side. "Mom, wake up!" Amara repeated. Shaking her head, she decided to check on the others but none respond to her pleas. Amara returned to her mother, taking her head into her lap and gently stroking her light brown hair. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. "Mom," Amara gasped, "please…"

Amara was unexpectedly distracted from the savagery before her when she smelled smoke. Careful not to step in the pools of blood, she made her way out the room and down the stairs. There, Amara spotted a giant flame at the front door. The fire quickly surrounded the entire house, sealing off every exit. She could see a figure in the distance beyond the flames. Amara knew it was Marnie. She decided to head to the back door where there was not much fire. Amara reached for the handle and screamed in agony as it burned her skin. "Shit!" she swore. She held her hand up to her face, examining it. Slowly, the wounds began to heal themselves. "What the hell?"

Realizing there is no other way out, Amara compelled herself to open the door. As she crossed the threshold, the flames seared her flesh. She couldn't hold back her screams, the pain was excruciating. Amara collapsed on the ground, away from her burning home. Forcing herself to sit up, Amara took in several deep breaths as her body healed from the burns. "What… what's happened to me?" Amara asked desperately.

"No, it's not possible!" Amara heard an all too familiar voice yell out. It was Marnie. She saw Amara sitting on the ground.

Too confused and afraid of everything that had occurred, Amara quickly stood up and darted into the woods behind her house.

"You better run, little girl!" Marnie called out as Amara continued further into the forest.

Amara ran until her feet were sore and then she ran even more. Unaware how much time had passed, she heard a voice somewhere...

* * *

"Miss, miss, wake up please," the cab driver said, shaking Amara slightly by the shoulder. "We're here."

Opening her eyes, Amara gave the cab driver a modest smile. "Sorry."

"Not at all, lil' lady. Long way from New Orleans. C'mon, lemme help ya with those bags," the man offered, helping Amara out of the cab.

"Thank you," Amara replied politely.

"What brings ya ta Shreveport?" he asked.

"My aunt just died. Apparently, she left me this house and a magic shop somewhere around here," Amara answered honestly.

"Gosh, that's awful. I'm real sorry, miss," the driver said sincerely.

"I haven't seen her in ten years," Amara stated, still honestly. "I was just a girl when she left." Now, that was a lie. It was fact that ten years have passed but Amara had no choice but to lie about her age. She still resembled a nineteen year old girl. That would not be easy to explain to most people.

The man just gave Amara a smile. "I can help take those in if ya like," he offered, motioning to her suitcases.

"I'll be fine."

"Alright. You take care o' yourself," the man said, proceeding back into his cab. "Bye, now."

"Bye…" Amara barely whispered.

Amara gazed off in the direction the cab drove off. She stood still for a few moments thinking about everything and nothing at the same time. She sighed deeply and turned to walk into her new home - Marnie's home. "Alright, let's go in," Amara said to herself.


End file.
